Every year, following a special liturgy, members of Perth’s Greek community assemble at Kings Park to commemorate the 25th March anniversary of Greece’s declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire. 2021 will be no different except that the celebrations will be larger and more poignant as it is the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Greek Revolution (and the 91st commemoration in WA).

The special church service and commemoration have been a mainstay for Perth’s Greek community since at least 1930 (soon after the November 1929 opening of the State War Memorial). Newspaper accounts verify that gathering to recognise the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence has a long tradition in WA. Below is a newspaper notice of the event from The Mirror, 29 March 1930.

Another two articles from The West Australian (27 March 1944 and 4 March 1951), further note the church service, followed by the ceremony at Kings Park. Finally, in tracing the National Day commemorations, a more recent image of the procession from 2019 at the State War Memorial is included.

By Dr John N Yiannakis OAM